Edinburgh (UK), January, 2009 -- DEM Solutions, world leader in discrete element modeling (DEM) software and services, announces its collaboration with the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE) of Graz, Austria, an inter-disciplinary research institute dedicated to providing independent research and development in the field of pharmaceutical engineering.
The RCPE is jointly owned by the Graz University of Technology, the University of Graz, and Joanneum Research and was established to bridge the gap between academic pharmaceutical research and the pharmaceutical industry. The RCPE conducts cutting-edge application-oriented research and development projects in collaboration with industrial, engineering, and scientific partners, helping them to develop new products and production processes.
DEM Solutions will provide the RCPE team with EDEM particle simulation technology, and will also contribute extensive practical experience in the industrial application of DEM to pharmaceutical manufacturing. EDEM, DEM Solutions' particle simulation software, enables a detailed analysis and visualization of the flow of particles, from powders to tablets, through process segments and handling equipment and can promote both innovation in product design as well as reduce the need for physical prototypes and long product development cycles.
EDEM software has many applications within the pharmaceutical industry and has previously been used to predict pharmaceutical powder flow properties; evaluate powder testing equipment; optimize tablet compaction, coating, and handling; design and test powdered drug delivery devices; and to develop virtual prototypes of process equipment, such as mills, mixers, and tablet presses.
"We welcome our new partner, DEM Solutions, to the RCPE team," stated Dr. Johannes Khinast, Scientific Director of the RCPE and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Graz University of Technology. "The integration of advanced modeling tools, such as EDEM, is of vital importance to the RCPE mission. The capability to simulate complex particulate systems using ascience-based method, such as DEM, will yield valuable information for use in research and development and will ultimately contribute to our understanding of relevant phenomena at all scales."
Dr. John Favier, CEO of DEM Solutions, replied, "We are pleased to be part of the cutting-edge pharmaceutical research and development conducted at the RCPE. EDEM has wide application in the pharmaceutical industry and we welcome the opportunity to share our expertise in addressing particle flow issues typically encountered in pharmaceutical research and in powder and tablet production."
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About DEM Solutions
DEM Solutions partners with their customers to improve their products and processes by simulating and analyzing operations at the particle scale. First released in 2005, EDEM software is now used in the design and analysis of particulate handling, processing, and manufacturing operations in almost every industry sector and engineering discipline.
EDEM provides companies with a tool to substantially reduce the number of physical prototypes and tests required to get a product to market or a process on-stream. It is used to help trouble-shoot difficult particulate processes and, because it is physics based, it can greatly improve understanding of system fundamentals leading to better product and process design and innovation.
DEM Solutions’ corporate headquarters are located in Edinburgh, Scotland with offices in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Frankfurt, Germany and Singapore with Distributor representation worldwide. For more information visit: http://www.dem-solutions.com
About RCPE
The RCPE GmbH is an interdisciplinary research institute in the area of pharmaceutical process- and product-development. We focus on the development and production of pharmaceuticals using rational, science-based methods derived from a mechanistic understanding of relevant phenomena at all scales. Our goals are the development of modern pharmaceuticals and therapeutics, new drug-delivery methods and diagnostic tools and the implementation of new quality-based production processes based on state-of-the-art scientific knowledge. For more information visit: http://www.rcpe.at